German Publication DE 199 39 020 A1 describes a contactor including a lower housing part and an upper housing part, which are each molded of insulating material. Arranged in the lower housing part are a fixed magnet yoke, an armature capable of moving relative to said magnet yoke, and a solenoid coil wrapped around the magnet yoke. The upper housing part accommodates main contacts, which are composed of contact bridges linked to the armature and of fixed contacts capable of being brought into and out of contact with said contact bridges, the upper housing part further accommodating main terminals conductively connected to the fixed contacts, as well as control terminals conductively connected to the coil ends. Viewed in the direction of the housing front, the control terminals are located in a plane behind the plane of the main terminals. When wiring contactors, usually the thick inflexible main current leads are connected to the main terminals first, and then the much thinner control leads are connected to the control terminals. It is a disadvantage that the control terminals are ergonomically difficult to access because of the covering main current leads.
Contactors of this type are shown in both document DE 198 14 432 C1 and the “Industrial Switchgear” main catalog 2002 of the firm Moeller GmbH, p. 06/006,020 f. These contactors have a lower housing part accommodating an electromagnetic operating mechanism, and an upper housing part accommodating main contacts and main terminals. Connection modules having control terminals A1, A2 or A3, A4 or A10, A11 allowing different options for controlling the electromagnetic operating mechanism, as well as a dummy module can be mounted at the corner edges of the lower housing part. The control terminal sides of the connection modules, which are defined by the control terminal openings to the control terminals, extend parallel to the main terminal sides of the upper housing part, which are defined by the main terminal openings to the main terminals. Tool access to the control terminals is perpendicular to the housing front through operating openings. Here too, the connection of control leads is hampered by the previously connected main current leads extending in front of the control terminals.
Document DE 296 10 329 U1 describes a plug-in connection module for electrical connection to two mating terminals which are connected inside the housing to the solenoid coil of an electromagnetic operating mechanism. Viewed in the direction of the housing front, the mating terminals, which are open toward the housing front, are located in front of the plane of main terminals, whose main terminal openings are formed in the housing sides extending perpendicular to the housing front.